The fourth section of the King's decree on the mountain, vv. 1-18, concerns the righteous deeds of the kingdom people.
The fourth section of the King's decree on the mountain, vv. 1-18, concerns the righteous deeds of the kingdom people.
Man's flesh, seeking to glorify itself, always wants to do good deeds before men in order to gain men's praise. But the kingdom people, who live in an emptied and humbled spirit and walk in a pure and single heart under the heavenly ruling of the kingdom, are not allowed to do anything in the flesh to gain the praise of men, but must do all things in the spirit to please their heavenly Father.
To the kingdom people God is not only their God but also their Father; they are not only created by God but also regenerated by the Father. They have not only the created, natural human life but also the uncreated, spiritual divine life. Hence, the new law of the kingdom, decreed by the King on the mountain, is given to them with the intention that they should keep it not by their fallen human life but by the Father's eternal, divine life, not to gain man's glory but to receive the Father's reward.
Surely the heaven-ruled spirit of the kingdom people restricts them from such fleshly boasting.
A stage actor, an impersonator. It was a custom for Greek and Roman actors to wear large masks with mechanical devices that increased the force of their voice. Hence, a dissembler. So in the succeeding verses.
See note Matt. 4:231a. So throughout the book.
Indicating that, as much as possible, the righteous deeds of the kingdom people should be kept secret. What they do in their spirit under the heavenly rule to please solely their Father must not be interfered with by their flesh in its lusting for man's glory.
The kingdom people live by the Father's divine life and walk according to their spirit. Thus, they are required to do good things in secret, not in public. Public exhibition does not correspond with the mysterious, hidden nature of the divine life.
The kingdom people, as children of the heavenly Father, must live in the presence of the Father and care for the Father's presence. Whatever they do in secret for the Father's kingdom is seen in secret by the Father, and He will repay them. Their heavenly Father's seeing in secret must be an incentive to doing their righteous deeds in secret. So in vv. 6, 18.
This may occur in this age (2 Cor. 9:10-11) or as a reward in the coming age (Luke 14:14).
Prayer that seeks man's praise may gain a reward from men, but it will not receive an answer from the Father; thus, it is vain prayer.
The kingdom people must have some experience of praying in their private room, through which they contact their heavenly Father in secret, experience some secret enjoyment of the Father, and receive some secret answer from Him.
This does not mean that we should not repeat our prayer. The Lord repeated His prayer three times in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:44), the apostle Paul prayed the same prayer three times (2 Cor. 12:8), and the great multitude in heaven praised God repeatedly with hallelujahs (Rev. 19:1-6). It means that we should not repeat empty words, words spoken in vain.
Although God our Father knows our need, we still must ask Him, because he who asks receives (Matt. 7:8).
In this way does not mean that we should recite this prayer. In the Acts and the Epistles there is no example of such reciting.
In the example of prayer given as a pattern by the Lord, the first three petitions imply the Trinity of the Godhead: "Your name be sanctified" is related mainly to the Father; "Your kingdom come," to the Son; and "Your will be done," to the Spirit. This is being fulfilled in this age, and it will be ultimately fulfilled in the coming kingdom age, when the name of God will be excellent in all the earth (Psa. 8:1), the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of Christ (Rev. 11:15), and the will of God will be accomplished.
After the rebellion of Satan (Ezek. 28:17; Isa. 14:13-15), the earth fell into his usurping hand. Thus, the will of God could not be done on earth as in heaven. Hence, God created man with the intention of recovering the earth for Himself (Gen. 1:26-28). After the fall of man, Christ came to bring the heavenly rule to earth so that the earth could be recovered for God's interest, so that the will of God could be done on earth as in heaven. This is why the new King established the kingdom of the heavens with His followers. The kingdom people must pray for this until the earth is fully recovered for God's will in the coming kingdom age.
This prayer, as a pattern, cares first for God's name, God's kingdom, and God's will, and second, for our need.
The King does not want His people to worry about tomorrow (v. 34); He wants them to pray only for today's needs.
Or, bread until tomorrow, bread for this day. Daily bread indicates a living that is by faith. The kingdom people should not live on what they have stored; rather, they should live, by faith, on the Father's daily supply.
This prayer, as a pattern, cares, third, for the kingdom people's failures before God and for their relationship with others. The kingdom people should ask the Father to forgive their debts, their failures, their trespasses, as they forgive their debtors to maintain peace.
This prayer, as a pattern, cares, third, for the kingdom people's failures before God and for their relationship with others. The kingdom people should ask the Father to forgive their debts, their failures, their trespasses, as they forgive their debtors to maintain peace.
The King had been led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:1).
Or, evil. This prayer, as a pattern, cares, fourth, for the kingdom people's deliverance from the evil one and from evil things. The kingdom people should ask the Father not to bring them into temptation but to deliver them from the evil one, the devil, and from the evil that is out of him.
This sentence is omitted in the earliest manuscripts.
The kingdom is the realm in which God exercises His power so that He can express His glory.
Amen, from Hebrew, means firm, steadfast, or trustworthy.
To fast is not to refrain from eating; it is to be unable to eat because of a desperate burden to pray for certain things. It is also an expression of self-humbling in seeking God's mercy. To give alms is to give what we have the right to possess, whereas to fast is to give up what we have the right to enjoy.
The fifth section of the King's decree, vv. 19-34, concerns the riches of the kingdom people.
To store up treasures in heaven is to give material things to the poor (Matt. 19:21) and to care for the needy saints (Acts 2:45; 4:34-35; 11:29; Rom. 15:26) and the Lord's servants (Phil. 4:16-17).
The kingdom people must send their treasure to heaven so that their heart also can be in heaven.
Our two eyes can focus on only one thing at a time. If we endeavor to see two things at once, our vision will be blurred. If we focus our eyes on one thing, our vision will be single and our whole body will be full of light. If we store up our treasure both in heaven and on earth, our spiritual vision will be blurred. For our vision to be single, we must store up our treasure in one place.
To look at two objects at the same time, not focusing on one object alone, is to make our eye evil (cf. Matt. 20:15; Deut. 15:9; Prov. 28:22). In such a case, our whole body will be dark.
If our heart is fixed on treasure laid up on earth, the light that is in us will become darkness, and great will be the darkness.
Lit., serve as a slave.
In Greek, hold to one and despise the other means to be devoted to one and be against the other.
An Aramaic word signifying wealth, riches. Mammon stands in opposition to God, indicating that wealth, or riches, is the opponent of God, robbing God's people of their service to Him.
Lit., soul. Referring to the soul-life, where the desire, the appetite, for food and clothing resides (Isa. 29:8).
Our life is more than food, and our body is more than clothing. Both our life and our body were brought into existence by God, not by our anxiety. Since God created us with a life and a body, surely He will care for their needs. The kingdom people do not need to be anxious about this.
Or, the length of his life (similar to lifetime in Psa. 39:5, lit.).
Lilies signify people under the care of God (S.S. 2:1-2).
Matt. 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:20
The kingdom people have the divine life of their heavenly Father as their strength to keep the new law of the kingdom. They also have their heavenly Father as the One who cares for their material needs, so that they do not need to be anxious about it. Their heavenly Father is the source of their strength and supply. Hence, they need not be weak or wanting.
Matt. 5:3, 10, 20; 6:10; 7:21; Luke 12:31-32; Acts 14:22; Rom. 14:17
The Father's kingdom is the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today, the reality of the church life today, and will be the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the coming age. The Father's righteousness is the righteousness expressed by the keeping of the new law of the kingdom, as mentioned in Matt. 5:20. This righteousness is Christ, who is lived out by the kingdom people. Since the kingdom people seek first the kingdom and the righteousness of their heavenly Father, not only will His kingdom and His righteousness be given to them, but also all that they need will be added to them.
The Father's kingdom is the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today, the reality of the church life today, and will be the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the coming age. The Father's righteousness is the righteousness expressed by the keeping of the new law of the kingdom, as mentioned in 5:20. This righteousness is Christ, who is lived out by the kingdom people. Since the kingdom people seek first the kingdom and the righteousness of their heavenly Father, not only will His kingdom and His righteousness be given to them, but also all that they need will be added to them.
The kingdom people should never live in tomorrow but always in today.
Not the same Greek word as for evil in note Matt. 6:132. Evil here denotes trouble and affliction. This indicates that the King of the kingdom has made it clear to the kingdom people that their days on earth for the kingdom will be days of trouble and affliction, not of ease and comfort.